Super Metroid: The Novelization
by jsng12
Summary: This story follows the events of the classic video game Super Metroid. The entire story of Samus Aran's adventure from the space colony to the "event" with Planet Zebes is recounted from the view of Samus with every detail as accurate as can be.
1. Farewell, Ceres

**- Chapter 1 -**

**- Farewell, Ceres -**

I instantly threw my gunship into a sharp turn and jammed it to full throttle. I flew manually; setting an automatic course would consume precious seconds. The few asteroids around Ceres worked in my favor and weren't in my flight path. My target was the center of the station, and no time was wasted getting there. As soon as my ship docked, I immediately headed down the elevator that lead to the most blue inner rooms I had ever seen.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of damage and any signs of disturbance. Still, I proceeded down the platforms utilizing a balance between cautiousness and haste for fear of the inhabitants' safety as well as my own. As I approached the only doorway, the shielding removed itself, and I saw again what I assumed to be a line of incubation pods along the back wall. My feet almost automatically leaped down the small set of stairs for the space on the floor just beside the slightly elevated platform. As they finished their job and crouched for me, my arms also accessed their muscle memory and took aim for the corners and crevices of the room, ready to eliminate any dangers they may conceal. Once I had scoped out that side, I progressed along the platform, staying ever vigilant. _The next room may contain the attacker_, I thought to myself. As a combatant, the danger is always looming just around the corner unless otherwise proven.

I followed protocol for single-soldier intrusion and aimed at the far corner of the ceiling once more, then dashed and turned to face the corner formed by the low ceiling I was under moments ago and the higher one. My gaze peered through the sturdy framework to my left at more incubation pods. It was a staircase room that lead to a lower level, and I kept my actions and emergency situation mindset as I proceeded into the next room at the bottom of the flight.

Death. It was the state of a middle-aged woman in a lab coat on the floor directly in front of me. I grew tense and gripped my arm cannon tightly with my left hand for higher accuracy in what may have soon become a battle. My pace slowed, and I steadily progressed. The shattered glass tube in the center of the testing room suggested this was the scene of the crime. Had the Metroid gathered its strength and escaped? No, the body was fully fleshed. If the Metroid had killed her, there would be nothing but dust of her remains. Had another specimen broken loose and―no, the incubation pods were intact without the slightest sign of damage. Just what had happened here?

I stopped my mind from thinking on the topic further. _Come on, Samus_, I thought. _This is an emergency situation._ There was an attacker that was possibly still present, and from the looks of the scene, it had some form of intelligence beyond that of a wild beast. Killing without rampaging and moving about without any direct signs of a trail were evidence of a conscious thought process not wanting to waste much time. The situation also suggested the attacker's swift movement by having no lights flashing or alarms sounding. None of the station's supercomputers seemed to be functioning either, so it may have either cut the power intentionally or blindly damaged an electrical circuit.

These thoughts raced through my mind in order to deduct what type of enemy I would be dealing with if we had an encounter. I took a few more steps to find two assistants also dead on the floor. One's positioning suggested he didn't die instantly. Poor soul. I walked up a few more stairs to the next door, ready to do battle.

I entered a simple corridor lined with blue framework along its sides. I picked up some speed, somehow knowing the assailant would be in the room connected to the door at the end. As I began to step toward the door, I took a deep breath to calm myself and prepare. I inched forward the smallest distance to open the doorway, and when it opened, I took two giant steps to gain momentum and leaped into the next room!

I assessed my surroundings as quickly as possible. Looking up, I saw the room was quite vast vertically compared to the others. To the sides I saw completely vertical walls that didn't change in their horizontal position at any point. Below me there was a basic flat floor and—the Metroid! Good, it was still in a container. It hadn't escaped! I landed near the creature and double checked my surroundings to ensure my first assessment's accuracy. I moved over to the door again for a second point of view. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I started toward the Metroid once more. My plan was to retrieve it, leave with it quickly, deliver it directly to Galactic Federation Headquarters, and report what I had seen so a further, more thorough investigation could be carried out. That was Plan A. Plan B was a bit trickier and more dangerous. I was unaware of this fact until I was forced to create it just a few feet before reaching the Metroid's container.

A small, solitary source of light appeared about 10 feet above the last specimen of an extremely dangerous alien species as it let out a few weak cries and expanded and retracted its fangs in what seemed to be an attempt to communicate with me. I stopped and tensed myself again. The space between the two once held nothing but air, but a silhouette quickly revealed its form. The source of light was one of the eyes of the leader of the Space Pirates.

"Ridley!"

. . .

The dragon belted out an intimidating roar from his long beak, showing his razor-sharp teeth and piercing me with his flaming yellow eyes. The noise echoed, but only for a moment. That moment seemed to exist outside the realm of time. Our eyes locked. I could have sworn I killed the beast back on Zebes, and my surprise instantly covered my face. He noted it and sent back a look that seemed to say, "No, I am not dead yet!" In that second, words were useless. Our unique relationship evolved beyond such forms of communication years ago. We had an entire conversation in silence concerning past events, the attack on Ceres, and his plans for stealing the Metroid. The facts were there. I knew all I needed. I aimed my arm cannon directly for his head and steadied my left hand's grip. The battle was on.

Ridley jetted into the air, gripping the Metroid container tightly with his talons. I fired off a few weak shots from my basic Power Beam. After eradicating the Metroids on SR388, I gave up my newfound abilities. I thought them unnecessary for future endeavors now that the galaxy was safe from the species' destructive powers. Finding myself in a battle for the last of their kind with Ridley wasn't something I had anticipated, and I was quickly regretting my decision.

He took the shots, probably to simply show himself that much superior and invincible to my current weaponry. Ridley retaliated by firing super-heated orbs of fire from his mouth, a tactic I had never considered possible until our first encounter on the nearby planet Zebes. I dodged. We had just begun our battle in a fashion that had become somewhat traditional. We knew each other's strategies and abilities far better than any other, and our precision in maneuvering and expertise in timing and execution were on par. I had managed to narrowly defeat him in each of our battles, but each time my resulting condition and fighter's instinct force me to treat the next battle as a life or death situation. That's because they are.

I rapidly moved in on him in an attempt to turn the fight into a battle of agility and stamina. My arsenal was extremely limited, so I had no chance of simply overpowering him. The abilities of those on a high level of combat expertise are very good, but ours specifically reach beyond that standard. No human could hope to fight the beast with this tactic under normal circumstances, but I have Chozo blood coursing through my veins. This and the fact that my Power Suit was delicately crafted by the Chozo to further enhance my physiology made the strategy possible. Receiving and training in this suit was the unleashing of my true potential, and I was using my progress's fruits against an enemy that is both a leader of the most vile intergalactic force known and a direct nemesis of peaceful civilization.

The fiery sparks from the flames bounced around the room, some catching on my visor and obstructing my vision for a time. Ridley launched a fully physical attack and rammed himself against the doorway in an attempt to crush me against it. He succeeded. Agility was one thing, but speed and blunt force are another. More fire came, and his signature tail came into play. He swirled it around playfully as if tempting me to engage him once more. I kept my wits about me, stayed back, and played the long-range fight card. I fired several times, and not a bullet went astray. He was still bragging through his combat style, more specifically through the lack thereof. My beam could hardly do any harm, and we both knew it. Ridley continued to toy with his prey, and I dodged as needed. Most would consider it an attempt to provoke, but we both know I'm not one to take bait. It was just a simple insult, but I still didn't appreciate it.

I kept firing my only weapon, my only form of attack. Eventually, I began to see my meager offense taking its toll. His blood began to boil; his adrenaline began to rush through his veins. I could almost swear his skin itself was changing color from its usual gray to a fiery red. His aggression heightened, and his frustration became very noticeable. Ridley stepped up his game, but he still wasn't using anywhere near the power he had.

Before long, I was able to rattle his posture just enough to get him to drop the Metroid capsule, but only for a short moment. In a way, I had won this battle, but it was merely a prelude to what would soon ensue. Ridley clasped the Metroid again before it hit the ground, nearly breaking the glass. The Metroid let out a few more terrified cries as the dragon reared to his right and made room for a mid-air runway. It was his time to exit. I was still able to stand well enough, but he quickly launched himself. He brushed against my armor, and that force combined with the rushing wind his movement generated threw me against the wall just under the door as he busted a hole in the adjacent wall and broke himself through to the space outside.

Ridley had escaped with the Metroid.

. . .

I watched as he flew off, but I didn't have time to grieve the defeat. I made the decision to chase after him, not knowing what quite to do, only that I had to do it.

Flashing lights! Sirens! As I headed for the door, a computerized voice came over the system and monotonously said, "Self destruct sequence activated. Evacuate immediately." I knew Ceres had given me even more incentive to move quickly than vengeance—self preservation. A timer displayed on my visor indicating there were 60 seconds until the very ground I was walking on became unrecognizable debris floating through the vast darkness of space.

I sprinted at full speed down the hallway and waited for the door before me to open. The waits to come were going to be a chore. In the next room with the shattered testing tube, I realized the lifeless bodies I was sidestepping would never get a proper burial, but I could still avenge their deaths. I kept on into the stairwell. The timer read 00'51"20. Smoke and pipe steam began puffing and shooting from the floors and walls. I somersaulted my way up as fast as I could despite the obstacles. I was taken aback on a few occasions, but I made it into the room with the elevated platform. Adding to the steam was falling debris and shrapnel from the ceiling. Apparently some preliminary bombs were set to detonate and weaken the structure before the main one. This was done in order to ensure complete destruction and make recovery of any data or hardware by enemies utterly impossible. However, it also made it very difficult for those inside the colony to escape in emergencies. In a way, I was glad the three victims I had seen earlier had gone fairly quickly. With only 00'34"47 left, their rescue would not have been feasible. The heat, panic, and forceful metal would have made their deaths unnecessarily gruesome. I stayed low and ran along, the falling plating mercilessly wailing upon my head. My helmet somewhat suppressed the blows, but the trauma still made its way through with a significant amount of force.

As I exited, I leaped up through the doorway and onto the lowest platform to speed up my escape as best I could. I heard an explosion just behind me and turned to see that the door had been the most recent victim of the destruction sequence. Any sooner and I would have gone alongside it. The artificial gravity module was now malfunctioning, and the room was swaying shakily along axes it was never meant to travel upon. I exerted more effort than before, and my human instincts were preventing my mind from properly calculating the necessary trajectories to land on the next platform. Steam blasted me from the edges of each, and my timer read 00'26"13. I had to move it.

Halfway up the shaft, my foot slipped across the higher platform I was jumping to and forced me down to the one below it. _No!_ I thought as I shifted my posture for the jump I had already cleared once. _I have to keep moving. There's no other way to get out of here!_ I finally made it to the elevator's yellow platform, and the timer stopped at 00'09"13. I was and still am confused as to exactly why. It could have been a suit malfunction, a connection error with the colony's system, or any other technical glitches.

But my mind wasn't on figuring that out. It was on escaping as quickly as possible. I rose through the elevator shaft, leaped into my ship, manually aimed it for the exit, and boosted the thrusters to a level that surpassed the most lenient of safety standards. Distance between my ship and the colony had hardly grown when a plethora of explosions went off simultaneously, including the larger, structure-destroying ones. Debris had already begun to fill the space around the colony, but a main mass was still present. A flash of yellow light shot out from the mass and gave the space's darkness a blinding illumination for a few moments. Chunks of metal and framework shot out in all directions with an almost incomprehensible force, and some came flying toward my gunship. Luckily, only a few made contact, causing minor damage (mostly the body, nothing essential), and the only problems I had were a racing heart and a bruise or two on my head from the collapsing ceiling I ran under less than a minute ago.

The valuable space research colony Ceres had been completely obliterated. _Command is not going to like this._

My mind jumped back to the thought of Ridley stealing the last surviving Metroid. I settled back in my chair hoping for some amount of relaxation, but my body tensed again when I was entering in the coordinates to my next destination. The plan was to chase Ridley down to the one place I knew he was heading—the space pirate base on planet Zebes.

**- End Chapter 1 -**


	2. Like Old Times

**- Chapter 2-**

**- Like Old Times -**

It didn't take long for my gunship to begin closing in on Zebes. I searched a bit for a good enough landing spot. I knew I was no match whatsoever for Ridley in a real fight at the time, so I wasn't planning on pressing myself for time. I was looking for a relatively desolate spot that still had at least fairly traversable terrain. An area between two stone structures seemed to meet my needs, so I began a slow descent.

My ship lowered itself through the clouds with different shades of a gloomy gray. It was raining a hard drizzle. It eventually stopped itself a few feet above the ground and went into hover mode. I set the controls to stay in a resting position using minimal power and boarded the lift to exit.

When I rose from my ship, I took a look around the area from my new angle. Raindrops poured onto my suit, and lines of water trickled down my visor. Under other circumstances, I could have had a very relaxing walk through the cool of Zebes' surface, and I planned to do just that once my self-assigned mission was complete.

There were tall masses of rock to either side of me, and the one to my right was approximately 100 feet tall with uniformly intermittent jags of mossy, makeshift platforms every 20 feet or so. I leaped from the top of my ship down to ground level. _The gravity here never changes. _I approached it for a closer examination. Under it was a type of cleanly mined tunnel now filled with rock unlike the rest of the structure. _This must be synthetic, or at least manually packed in. What are they hiding behind here? _I contemplated jumping up and around the structure on the jags, but I knew I wasn't able to jump to the needed heights. I stood back and fired a few shots, expecting it to have a minimal effect if any. There was none. _No use in forcing a hunch as I am now._

I walked away from it and over to a slightly more spacious cavern below the other structure that was originally to my left. The whole mass was higher than I cared to estimate. Within it, there was what looked to be a blue mechanical door fashioned in an all too familiar manner. Doors that required one shot from a simple beam were standard for space facilities everywhere, but its specific style was unmistakeable. _This confirms any suspicions of Space Pirate activity on Zebes. _I fired a single shot at it.

_*bwvee*_

It had been some years since my last trip to this planet and the entire Space Pirate base's destruction from Tourian, the base's main laboratory that housed Mother Brain. She was a telepathic entity, an organic supercomputer created by the Galactic Federation whose mind was corrupted by Phazon, a highly corrosive substance discovered recently in the depths of space. After some time, the Federation took it upon themselves to utterly destroy any traces of it in the galaxy—only after horribly failing to harness its power for their own uses, of course.

Mother Brain was able to control the Metroids telepathically, and the Space Pirates were able to put this ability to good use. Ridley's plan was to take over the galaxy by sheer force and control it with a very justified fear of pain, torture, and death. The Metroids, the "Ultimate Warriors," were created by the Chozo for the purpose of peace, but it was now my duty as the protector of the galaxy to stop their use (or rather, the last one's use) by the Space Pirates for the means of terror and destruction.

I stepped through the door expecting the same basic features of the old base: weak creatures, clean cut hallways, and a vast expanse of space in each room. I wouldn't call it shock, or even surprise, but what my eyes captured wasn't much how I remembered. The space I was in then resembled the old base no more than I resembled a skree. It was a small cave with moss barely reaching out of rock in some places, uneven ground, jagged stalactites, and mounds of stone packed together — nothing like how it used to be. _So this is what it looked like after the last explosion here. They must not have __bothered rebuilding every hallway as it was._ The Space Pirates probably weren't too keen on creating perfection again after it was destroyed the first time, for fear of the same thing happening again.

Another thing was the absence of any creatures whatsoever. There were no life forms anywhere in plain view. I continued forward, confident there was nothing very dangerous in the silent cave. I jumped up onto the mound in front of me, and after a few steps, my eye caught a few bugs flying away from a patch of rock. _Well, there are those creatures, at least. _A few more feet of ground featured a small ledge. After stepping off, I looked back at it to see a small pathway just large enough for my Morphing Ball. _Too bad, but if memory serves, it shouldn't be long._

As I proceeded along the fairly straightforward path, I eventually came to a small hole in the floor just before a short wall made of the same type of synthetic rock I had just seen outside. I knew I couldn't get past it, and a quick survey of my immediate surroundings rendered nowhere to go but down. I gently dropped into the hole and landed on a platform of rock just below.

I dropped down the combination of platforms and ledges. It was a crudely dug out shaft that was either made extremely quickly or without regard for any sort of decoration, or even cleanliness. Alongside the rock were small portions of rusted metal piping no one had bothered trying to cover. A few platforms down and to the left was a small crevice of the same tiny size I had just seen in the horizontal cave space above, and through it I saw another blue door. Lower and to my right was a red door in plain view, mine for the opening. The color coding was a sign of a specific ballistic requirement. I tried my beam (again, expecting nothing), and the door had no reaction. _Limited access in the beginning as always._

Directly across from it to the left was another blue door. I shot it and went through. I found myself stuck in a small space surrounded by carefully laid blue brick with one gap in it near the floor, again just small enough to be entered as a ball. A couple examples of what seemed to be skulls were artistically etched into the walls. I took a few shots around the room to be sure I didn't miss anything obvious, then exited.

I continued down the crude shaft to the bottom as more moth-like creatures fluttered away. Not too much further along was the base, within which was a horizontally laid out blue door surrounded by more pipe than stone. _Looks like I'm getting somewhere._ I aimed down and took the shot.

_*bwvee*_

I dropped through and landed on a small metal structure just below. Fog and stale air filled the room. Looking over the low edges and around, it was a very familiar setting. The walls were lined with what looked to be circuitry embedded within metal panels. Small, thin, sporadically-placed platforms filled the main area. Two were at eye level, one to either side of me. There was rusty framework behind me to really set the inviting tone. Everything seemed worn and abandoned, probably because it mostly was. I made a small jump over the side of the only platform of its kind, and as more moths flew away from their gathering places, I began my descent down the nostalgic shaft. _This brings back memories. The last time I was in here, my heart was racing, and there were explosions everywhere. Self-destruct sequences never seem to go calmly._

After dropping a good distance, I noticed the right wall had no platforms directly attached to it. My Power Suit protected me from falls of any height, so I moved toward the side, hugged the wall, and fell. _Just how much falling do I have to do here? I guess it's only right if this is how I got out before._

I hit a platform with a blue door just underneath it. It took me by surprise at first, since it was the only one aside from the first to directly attach to it. I hopped off the left side of the ledge, dropped down by a handful more platforms, and headed through the door.

. . .

The view I took in, even though I _knew_ all too well it was coming, made me lock my eyelids together and take a few hyperventilated breaths. Shock scoured its way through my body, and my limbs numbed. I became nauseous and lost some of my balance, and sweat rushed down my skin spreading its odd warmth over my hot-cold body. Disturbances and thoughts of the death an immense army of controlled Metroids could potentially cause ran their images through my mind.

A massive, destroyed glass incubation tank sat inches in front of me with frayed wires coming from its top and bottom. _No, it's fine. I've destroyed her. She has no control anymore, no power. She's dead! Pull yourself together, Samus. Just close your eyes and walk through._

I did as I had told myself. I could feel the effects of the wires' left over electromagnetic fields and knew them to be the cause of at least some of my current physical faults, but it felt too much like an ominous aura penetrating my very soul. I took a step forward, and the shards of broken glass crunched under my boots. I couldn't take it just yet; I needed a moment to rest. I turned around and put my hand on the door, eyes still shut tight. I decided to have my moment outside and took a shot at the door. The familiar sound of an ineffectual blast hit my ears, and my hand didn't drop from the door that was still there. _Locked in? Oh God…_ The realization was unsettling, to say the least. I placed my arm cannon hand on the door as well and leaned my head toward to it rest.

After a few deep breaths, I was still far from firm, but I turned around and started toward the tank once more on wobbling legs, trying to get through without thinking much of it. The crunching silenced itself after a few steps, and my heel slipped of the side. I desperately opened my eyes as I was sent a few feet below next to an old Zebetite. I turned back around to try to get to my feet again, but the view from the upward angle from which I was looking shot memories and more orange-tinted images through my mind. My eyes closed again. I started to pick myself up. I was nearly recovered physically, so I jumped up to land on the broken tubing of the Zebetite to my right. _Crunch! Snap! _ The sounds didn't bother me as much anymore, and I stuck the landing on the metal pole. I tried to put what was behind me behind me and started across the small platforms leading to the other side of the corridor.

. . .

There was a blue door surrounded by more old metal paneling right across from me. Seeing nowhere else to go and nothing else to do, I shot it and went through. I was in a blue elevator room. The walls were lined with oddly modern circuitry and well-carved stone, and there was a yellow glowing disk in the center of the floor that no doubt led to a new, lower area. _I must be getting closer to a place of importance. The Pirates seem to have kept this room up nicely, I assume because it's a main route of transportation. Time to prepare myself and move on._

I boarded and activated the lift. A low, constant hum sounded as the glowing disk began to slowly descend into and through the glass tubing. I neared the bottom, and upon exiting the tube entered another spacious cave. On my sides were two large stalactites of rock that nearly reached the ground, leaving just enough room for me to walk through upright.

When I hit ground level, I realized that I was exactly where I began my last mission. Things had changed on this planet, but there were definite similarities between its current state and past structure. A sudden flash of energy and almost childish excitement shot up my spine and spread a tingling sensation through my head. I darted to the left and saw a rather large structure protruding from the back wall, but I paid it little attention. I jumped up the pseudo staircase it formed and scaled it, then dropped through the small gap at the end. I hit the ground and immediately got a bit of a running start, then leaped for the small pillar ceremoniously placed in the center of the side area. My body touched the small glowing sphere resting on top of the pillar, and my HUD displayed a simple message in the center of my visor.

_MORPHING BALL ACQUIRED._

**- End Chapter 2 -**


	3. The Graciousness of the Space Pirates

**- Chapter 3 -**

**- The Graciousness of the Space Pirates -**

Immediately after the message disappeared, a security camera in the shape of an eyeball out of its socket opened up and shone a bright yellow light on me from the left corner of the stone ceiling to the top of the pillar I was standing on. Just below me and to either side, two heads like the ones I had seen earlier turned on metal blocks and faced my direction. Their eyes and mouths glowed with a dim red-yellow that seemed to cast a colored shadow rather than provide light.

A glint of surprise shot its way onto my expression, and in a hastened panic, I quickly jumped over to the right side of the stone head furthest from the camera. It followed my every move flawlessly up until I pressed myself against the lower left side of the "staircase" I had frantically blazed up and over moments ago, eager to get out of view. _The Chozo always leave behind weapons to aid me, but this one was under watch. Snatching it must have triggered some sort of security. I'll probably meet up with a few Space Pirates soon. _I thought myself careless, but I realized there was no other way of getting the item. No matter what I did, it would have resulted in detection. _Maybe later suit upgrades will have more possible outcomes._ I decided then that I would have to be much more careful of my actions in the future.

Nevertheless, the Space Pirates knew I was in their base. The element of surprise was shattered, and there was no getting it back. Surely they knew the potential I had to ruin their plans after our last encounter and would dispatch more security than they had previously. _With their numbers dwindled from the explosion, I still have a chance._

Moving over to the left again at that point would have only gotten myself more face time on the security monitors. Looking around my small safe zone, I spotted a small damaged block near my feet. I saw no better option at the time, knelt down, and fired my beam at it. It crumbled instantly. I let out a sigh of relief and activated my newly-recovered Morphing Ball, then rolled on through the makeshift tunnel. As I rose back into a standing position, I pushed the feeling of déjà vu to course through my body to help calm my nerves. They were onto me, and they knew where I was. I didn't have time to sulk, only to get moving. I didn't have much fire power to fend them off, either.

I had a decision to make. Either I could go back up the elevator the way I came to get to my ship for protection, or I could press on down the hallway I was facing. Either would get me away from where they spotted me, but the further the better. I took and chance and headed to the right, hoping I could descend into some catacombs and possibly find some sort of weapon or suit upgrade in the process. My feet instantly began dashing at full speed toward the other end like a well-oiled machine. Out of the corners of my eyes, I noticed the passage was cleanly cut along the floor. The ceiling wasn't as even with some gaps between rocks and jagged stone sticking out in some patches, but it was certainly paid more attention to than the previous area.

A moment later, a ledge about six feet above the level ground sported a blue door in the wall just a few steps' length further. A quick jump and shot opened the way into another room with two more stone heads at either end of a 15-foot line of blocks suspended about a foot above the floor by the back wall. It was set just above a slightly longer line of the same brittle stone that ran the length of the room, but I quickly pushed my mental notes aside and pushed forward toward the nearby door directly in front of me. I jumped on top of the higher line and took a shot. When nothing happened, the little adrenaline that had begun to pump weakened its flow.

It was a red door.

_No!_ I had just made my decision in the last corridor, and already I was regretting it. Going back would waste time. _I can't go anywhere else here, so I have to get a move on to get back!_ I ran back out and to the elevator. Just as I was about to go up, something inside me clicked. The block by the Morphing Ball. It was the same as the blocks lining the floor in the other room. _If I could shoot that one out, could I do the same in there? I don't hear or see any security just yet, so I may have time! _With that thought, I acted on my inquisitive instinct and doubled back once more. I took a few shots around the suspended platform and the floor, and sure enough, they crumbled. I saw more of the room down below and wasted no time dropping down. The room was about three times its immediately recognized height, and at the bottom was another small tunnel the size of my Morphing Ball. I crouched down and rolled through, blasting open the door and running in as fast as I could.

. . .

I wasn't pressed for time. I wasn't on the run. I was back on the home planet of the Chozo. It was that time again—the time I had learned and mastered enough for them to entrust me with a new ability! I walked up to the ceremonial statue with the glowing sphere that looked to be woven in metal. A gentle shot of my Power Beam went forward and opened it. I reached out and slowly touched the miniature rocket in a capsule, accepting the gift they chose to grant me.

_MISSILE ACQUIRED._

I felt the technology integrating itself into my arm cannon as I turned to thank Old Bird for his decision and gift, but there was no one. I was in a small room with neatly placed metal blocks and pipes running along the walls, but one thing brought my mind to a place of discomfort. I saw a Space Pirate doorway. My fantasy of my past came crashing down around me, and reality forced itself back in. I was running from security that had most likely been dispatched quickly, and this room was a dead end. I dashed back out the door and jumped up along the platforms made of broken and cracked blocks. I shot my way up and through them, then turned right to try out my missiles on the door that had just denied me entry. It seemed to weaken the force field a bit. It flashed a docile blue for a moment and let out a sort of pounding sound, so I emptied my inventory quickly. It took all five of my new ammunition to get in, but I did.

I was in another hallway much like the last one. I started down it and found myself approaching a large block of stone hanging off the ceiling and back wall that left a small tunnel between its bottom and the floor, but more pressing than that was the camera sitting halfway up the structure. In a flash, it opened its eyelids and beamed light on my infamous Power Suit once again. _Another! _I did a quick tuck-and-roll through the tunnel hoping for an end and wound up in a tiny side space. Another missile expansion sat just above my head on a decorative metal piece. I wasted no time nabbing it and spraying an array of Power Beam shots around the area looking for a way to progress further. After realizing I wasn't going anywhere beyond the side space, I got out as quickly as possible. If there were no more exits to speak of, I was officially at a dead end. I had to head back up through the elevator. _I've wasted enough time and given them too long to mobilize! If I want to make it out alive as I am, I have to get back to my ship. Now._

. . .

The ride back up couldn't have been more agonizingly slow. The automated speed didn't mesh well with my need to move. I still counted myself lucky that they didn't shut the elevators down and corner me, but it would take more than that to make it back safely.

As the platform set itself back into position, I noticed the once dead elevator room was now active as noted by the brighter lighting and computerized sounds beeping around me. I expected something like this, and the impact of the encounter had been mostly nullified over the years through training and experience. Mostly. I opened the door back to Mother Brain's old chamber and went in, throwing myself into action both to save time and stop even the thought of hesitation.

Space Pirates! _Looks like security's finally here. _One stood directly in front of me, and a swift turn of the head revealed another climbing the wall just above the door. And me. The one to my left took a shot, and I quickly ducked down to the small space between the nearest Zebetite and wall that created the platform to the door. I used my only weapon to try and take out the one from above. There was a short shriek as the beam landed. A controlled flurry of small explosions and fire engulfed the Pirate's armor for a short second while the sound of soft stone crumbling or boulders gently but unanimously rolling echoed off the walls, then nothing. _It worked! Good, I know I can take them out. I need to move before too many come at me. _My legs and arms guided my motions through muscle memory once more as I hopped across to the next platform, taking out the second Pirate in my hang time.

As the series of explosions diminished, my Power Suit sounded a few short blips, and my missile inventory increased by two. _Hm? Why in the world would it do that? Did something cause it to refill, or is there a glitch in my system? _That was the least of my worries at the moment, so I looked forward and pressed on. Two more were stationed in the same fashion, and I got rid of them the same way. The second Pirate left behind a small glowing object that was stationary in mid-air. I looked at it inquisitively, but my observations yielded nothing. The only thing to do was either go around it or try to grab it. I chose the latter and cautiously reached out my hand. The instant I touched it, it disappeared, and the blips sounded as my inventory increased by two once more. _It seems they leave behind weapon refills, but why? How? _My mind snapped back. Time was of the essence. The last platform was empty. _Good, I'm done with this room._

I pushed forward toward the door, but was caught by both surprise and a weak shot from a laser. _Agh! _The force sent me back and down onto the metal piping below. I picked myself up and let the Pirate on patrol live only a few seconds longer than planned. I decided to stay down where I was in case more came unannounced as well as to prepare and think. _Why are these so weak? I expected much more difficult opponents to get rid of me as fast as possible. And what about the explosive deaths at that? The ammunition?_ Thoughts raced through my mind regarding the situation, and the best explanation I could come up with is that they were still severely few in number. If my theory was right, Ridley was taking a risk and testing out new armor on some of his followers. I supposed he sent the experiment "volunteers" both to get me rattled and weed out the failures. It probably didn't matter to him whether they died or I did. It was a win-win. It still didn't explain the ammunition they left behind though.

Thinking further, I realized the situation turned out to give me the upper hand. If I was right, Ridley had risked letting me live with his plan, and I was satisfied with both his loss and the opportunity to breathe longer. A glance to my Power Suit's energy on my HUD let me know that I had lost 15% of my shielding. _At this rate, if the same proportions of Space Pirates are scattered all along the way back to my ship, I could probably make it. Why aim for a tentative standard though? The last thing I need is for my suit to fail me before I expect it to. It would be nice for these guys to leave behind Power Suit energy too. _Poring over it wouldn't help much more. I got back up by the door planning to go straight through, but the surprises weren't over. Just like the ammunition, there was now some sort of dark sphere before me that seemed to emanate something from its center. I took my chances and made the same decision as before. _Speak of the devil... _I admired my shielding's100% coverage and allowed a sly smile to come over me. _It's moments like these..._

I took note of the door's oddity—rapidly blinking between blue and gray colors—and put together that I had triggered an event that causes the doors to "unlock". I fired my arm cannon, opened the door, and cautiously stepped through. The bottom of the shaft was all clear, but scaling could prove problematic with enemies along the way. I began my climb and spotted another Pirate clinging to a wall just above and to my left, then took care of it. A few jumps more revealed another to my right. It became apparent that the sporadically-placed platforms actually had a sort of pattern after a while of somersaults and enemy dispatching. Near the top, there was a Pirate on either side of me. I tried to take them out at the same time, but I missed one. The Pirate fired back and leaped to the other wall, successfully knocking me down along the way. I never gave him the chance to do the same again (or anything else for that matter) and rose to the top center platform.

I came through the door and instantly found the creatures of Zebes I had missed earlier on my way down.

**- End Chapter 3 -**


	4. Decisions & Outcomes

**- Chapter 4 -**

**- Decisions & Outcomes -**

Crawling along the rock wall just to my right was the first natural organism I had seen yet. It was a small blue creature with a shell-like covering like a spiked turtle—the familiar and reminiscent geemer. It slowly moved down the wall and toward me from its original position atop the lowest right side mossy ledge. _Why didn't I see any geemers before?_

I left the question to hang in the back of my mind and proceeded up the pit the way I came. It wasn't the time to ponder useless things. More geemers made their presence known along the walls and a certain center platform on the way up to the red door I had seen earlier. Having missiles now, my curiosity was piqued, but the mystery surrounding the door's "key" was irrelevant to my current mission—escape.

I soon crossed paths with a ripper—a creature like a bullet encased in an extremely durable material shaped like a seashell that ricochets back and forth from walls slowly via an organic rocket of sorts embedded within its backside while retaining its exact same elevation—that narrowly let me squeeze between itself and the wall despite its unwavering velocity. Heading out through the same hole I came through didn't prove to be much of a problem. _Just where are all the Pirates? _I pressed my luck and rushed back to the right, barely avoiding the swift suicide dives from the three bat-like skrees on the cave ceiling and making a small hop onto the mound without breaking my stride. I maneuvered my way past a few more geemers, barely catching my foot on the last one before blasting open the blue door at the end and making a break for my ship through through the light wind and rain. A skillful jump was all it took to get back on my ship's main body, and a few carefully-placed steps got me to the center lift. I saw a few flickering flashes of light and made my descent with a mindset I can only describe as the calm actions of someone on an adrenaline high. An ominous roar of thunder let out its passive yet forceful anger when it struck the desolate surface of Zebes just as the hatch closed.

My hands jolted themselves to the ship's main control panel and activated the suit repair sequence. As my power suit's dents popped back into place, smooth reflections of light spread across the once rugged alloys. The machine spun its various repair mechanisms around me in the usual flashy sequences, and it was over after only a few seconds. I reached down to my piloting chair and set my hand on the scanner to take control of the ship. My main screen lowered itself in front of me as I sat down, and my three-dimensional map of the galaxy appeared. I reached out toward a set of various buttons to the lower right, one of which simply read "nearest GF station.

My hand froze. Less than half an inch away from my fingertip was my desired selection. Confusion had hardly had the chance to become my primary emotion when a voice in my head whispered, "Is this _really_ what you want? Is _running away_ what you want to do?"

The situation hadn't registered properly (or at least that's what I'd like to think), and I considered those words. _This is a staple Space Pirate base containing the commander himself, Ridley. I've taken on jobs of this magnitude before, and much like this one, I never had the chance to evaluate my real position until later on in the mission. Should I really just leave it like this just because the threat is apparent from the beginning?_

I had made my decision. For better or worse, I was going to stop thinking about the situation from a big picture standpoint and view from my own small, yet opportune one. I sent the monitor back into the upper mass of equipment, stood from my chair, and activated the lift with me on it. This wasn't an instinctual reaction. In relation to my past experiences, it really was a thought-out plan. I assigned myself the new mission officially, reciting it to myself silently as the planet's surface came into view again in an entirely new light.

_Primary objective: Eliminate Ridley, permanently._

_ Secondary objectives: Destroy the Space Pirate base. Gather intel on whatever inner-workings I can._

I looked to my right. The synthetic rock was an obstacle that I _would_ break through. I _was_ going to find out what was beyond that stone structure. I looked to my left. I peered down the crude path to the blue door. I _was _going to scavenge that place for all it was worth in regard to both enemy intelligence and weapons and power-ups for my power suit. The Space Pirates knew I was there. I knew they were there. I was a little late to starting, but this much was evident: The battle of brute strength and great wits had already begun.

**. . .**

I bolted for the door, my legs running by my command rather than reflex. I shot open the door in mid-sprint with almost murderous intent and flew through it. The geemers didn't matter right then. I made another quick jump back onto the mound and kept going. When I got to the other end, I rolled into a ball and through the small tunnel from before. In my state of mind at that moment, the state experience and military training had drilled into me so fiercely, I knew no real emotion. I was a machine that quickly considered all aspects and options of a war-style situation and acted on the ones with the highest chance of success and greatest possible reward with a minimal risk to my physical well being. I was in _lorem mode pugnator_, or"ideal fighter mode."

I dropped down below and blew past another ripper just further down. I went through a blue door at the bottom to the right and ran through a corridor constructed of blue bricks with small flying enemies that swooped down from overhead too slowly to hit me. Another red door made itself visible at the other end atop more metal piping, and I spent little time driving a few of my ten missiles into it until it opened. On the way in, I noted that I had five left. Logic dictated that my only available option for opening the door was with missiles, that my ship must have refilled my ammunition to its maximum once again, and that it took five missiles to unlock red doors. _Situation and concepts grasped._

Inside was another Chozo statue holding a ball much like the one that covered my first missile tank. After seeing no signs of any security systems, I repeated my actions from the last bout and shot it. The item looked to be a small red-orange dot floating in the center of a cubic container. I picked it up, and a message came across my HUD.

_BOMB ACQUIRED. Roll into morph ball mode to lay._

I noted no numbers or limits as to how many bombs I could use and concluded that I could produce an infinite number of them as I had in the past. The theory would need to be proven with a bit of testing to come later. I had gotten all I could from the room, and the bombs had a possibility of making way for two other paths I had seen previously. I noted their locations mentally as I turned and ran back toward the door. I jumped for it and—

_*DEOUH*_

The door had forced itself locked shut sporting the same deep gray as the one near Mother Brain's old chamber. Logic again dictated something had to happen in the room in order to get out, so I began shooting various parts of the floor, walls, and ceiling all lined with metallic piping, blocks, and pseudo-bricks hoping to forge a new path.

After a few moments of that, the statue that once held the bomb upgrade began to crack and crumble around its face. It partially leaned forward and crumbled an entire thin stone outer layer of itself to reveal a sleek gray figure underneath donning the same exoskeleton as it just had with dull eyes set at a menacing 45-degrees down and inward. It nearly instantly rose up and took another step forward. I had already fixated my arm cannon at the beast by the time it let out its first roar.

The being was undoubtedly an ancient Torizo, and it wanted me crushed.

**. . .**

I fired shots from a distance, not letting the circumstances faze me and attacking my attacker. I slowly made my way back to the door where I had come in as the beast took great mechanical strides in my direction. I figured my best bet was to keep it a distanced battle, but the small room didn't allow for much maneuverability. It eventually backed me into the corner, and when I tried to jump over its head, it caught me with an instant and powerful slash from its claw-like hand that left behind a trail of red-orange heat and energy. I was smashed backward into the sturdy gray material that made up the door, and it resisted with a sound as if I were hitting a solid inch of plastic and glass molded perfectly into each other.

My body fell to the ground in a bit of shock. I took half a breath and looked up to see the Torizo flying backward in the air and against the wall it originated from with marvelous hang-time. It lifted its claws and erupted a series of what looked to be large grotesque spheres dripping with acids that traveled a parabolic path toward me. I darted forward as quickly as I could, hoping to run underneath the flow. Toward the end the final sphere came out with little force and was in free fall, aimed to cross paths with me. I attempted to make a small leap over it and mostly succeeded, but the middle of my left arm was tainted with the acids. The last drops of gastric drool came down on the top of my helmet as I landed immediately at the feet of the Torizo. I noted a glowing chamber where a rib cage would be on most organisms. More importantly than that was what I could deduce was beyond the chamber that's normally beyond rib cages—its heart. I switched on my missiles and launched a few toward the chamber as best I could as it moved forward once more in motions I couldn't fully recognize as either crushing or kicking, just walking.

Two of the four missiles landed direct hits on the glowing heart chamber. I only had one left, and I wanted to make it count so as not to depend on my weak power beam for any longer than necessary. I launched a short spray of power beam shots, as I had noticed that when I hit the Torizo, it halted all movement very momentarily (less than a fraction of a second). I switched on my missiles just in time for its second leap back and against the wall, then switched them off at the site of the same stance it had taken just before its first acid ball attack. The only way I could figure to avoid the orbs pounding down on me from where I was standing was to fight my way through them. I let off a few shots aimed toward the few that were coming directly for me, and they fortunately exploded upon the beam's impact. The fact that they left behind the same energy pulsations and missile refilling objects I had seen earlier from the Space Pirates came across as odd to say the least, but the thought never got the chance to register as an issue. I took what as there.

I grabbed the refills that were left behind by the orbs, switched on my missiles, and unloaded as many as my rate of fire would allow in the short moments I had between it ending the orb attack and beginning its arm slash. Two more landed on the heart chamber, and another directly in its face.

The powerful claw came down. I barely had time to change my posture to minimize the damage, and my left bicep was caught in the attack's path. It knocked me back again, but I planned to nail my last missile into the heart chamber as soon as I recovered. I went to position my left hand on my arm cannon to increase my precision and accuracy only to realize the two blows it had received thus far resulted in that part of the suit malfunctioning, even with the first being mostly fixed by the energy refill from earlier. I took my chances and used my single jittery arm to aim and fire.

The chamber busted open. A short spurt of organic fluids rushed to the ground alongside the shattered pieces of the chamber covering that looked like bits of a crunched lollipop with ungodly flesh left on. The beast froze for a moment longer than it had for other hits for a reason I could only assume was experiencing a shock to the system; there was no facial expression or other body language with which to indicate. The liquids continued to pour at a slightly slower rate than the first bout, but not by much. It approached me once more in its usual fashion, its fighting prowess seemingly unaffected. I let off a few more shots, using the only offense I could. It was about to corner me again when I made a leap into the air toward and over it. As it turned, I again shot as fast as I could, now aiming at the head. Just as it was about to thrash again, its face gave and crumbled as if I had just hit the last of a strategic set of support points.

It instantly turned itself around and back again, showing the only wasted movement I had seen thus far. It continued to march around blindly with me attacking while still trying to avoid damage, failing to some extent. The Torizo constantly thrashed the area at a much faster pace than before, still living somehow, and still very dangerous. Ten seconds of reflexive jumping, shooting, dodging, and taking hits later, the beast froze in place, ceased all movement, and slowly began to suffer a few small explosions across its body. The rate and magnitude of them increased until it was as if a series of bombs were going off before me. For all I knew, they were.

I kept my distance, and soon nothing was left. Missile and energy refills appeared scattered overhead, and the gray door began to blink blue just as the one near Mother Brain's old chamber had. The lock was released. I accepted the fact that these refills suddenly appeared with little gripe or question of nature and grabbed them, my power suit looking as if it were healing itself. I took my time shifting my eyes toward the unlocked door with exhaustion, opened it, and left. I leaned against the other side of the door and gazed down to the piping below my feet, looking at nothing in particular. I quickly recounted the events that had just unfolded in my head, the scrapes and dents over my suit no more and my missiles refilled to their maximum capacity.

_Samus, that just happened._

**- End Chapter 4 -**


End file.
